It feels like a lifetime but at long last motorsport returns to our screen this weekend with the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout – live from Daytona Florida!
It’s a new season but unfortunately it may not be a fresh start as an old feud once again rears its head. It seems that incidents in Texas last November are still playing on champion Jimmie Johnson’s mind and he’s still smarting over a lack of apology from ‘bump-happy’ Sam Hornish Jnr.
Despite going on to secure the championship Johnson suffered a setback that could have cost him everything so is he perfectly justified in wanting an apology from Hornish Jnr? As a champion and therefore brand ambassador, should he be more willing to say ‘that’s behind us now’ especially given that the real culprit was David Reutimann? Could we expect to see the same in F1 which, when we least left it, had a similar argument ongoing between Trulli and Sutil?
When it comes to feuding drivers is it soo 2009 or soo ON? Let me know you thoughts!
There are a few things that will be big in 2010 – shoulder pads and F1 grid line-ups to name a few. Another trend set to rule big in 2010 is location-based tracking (fans of FourSquare will know what I mean). For those of you sans iPhone location-based tracking means you can find users within a certain distance of any given area to connect with. Apart from FourSqaure applications like Locify and Latitude can also help.
In honour of this trend I decided to do a little digging around for some location-based stats for 2009 and I came up with this…
Whilst certain expectations proved correct – Spain were Renault mad and Force India did well in (come on it’s not that difficult to guess!) one team managed to top the stats in pretty much all countries…yep Ferrari managed to prance its way into the hearts of fans around the world.
It does seem however that the UK and Japan are the most diverse bunch when it comes to who they support, or at least who they search for. Each team (minus Ferrari) had a roughly equal amount of support, showing just what a diverse bunch we are and no doubt making bosses at Silverstone and Suzuka confident of filling seats over the race weekend – equal banner arrangement however may prove a little more difficult!
This weekend sees the start of the new WRC season, and the reappearance of one of motorsport’s biggest characters – move over Dancing on Ice man (anyone else irritated by the Boyzone bloke using the nickname?!) because on January 29th the original ‘Iceman’ is back!
Yes, Kimi Raikkonen will be racing again as he makes his debut for Citroën at the Artic Lapland Rally. If this sounds familiar it’s probably because it is – the rally is where Raikkonen made his impressive debut in (and arguably just as impressive exit from) rallying in 2009.
Partnering Kaj Lindström in a C4, even the Ice-cool Finn must be feeling some pressure. The event is traditionally seen as a practice for the real start of the WRC 2010 season a week later and it’ll be Kimi’s first opportunity to truly show he can cut it in another class.
Personally I’m looking forward to the media interviews before and after just as much as I am the race. Kimi had, at the same time, one of the most-laidback and yet guarded personalities in the F1 paddock. Will this persona follow him to WRC or will we see more interaction? Has the 2007 champion found his true niche in WRC or will a little of him always prefer driving solo with his wheels a little closer to the ground?
Let me know your thoughts!
Being in the PR world I am of the firm belief that publicity makes the world go round; understandably this isn’t a few that everyone shares. Whilst F1, NASCAR, Indycar and the BTCC have had not problem generating publicity another series is preparing for 2010 in a much quieter way…
The World Series by Renault will return to the worldwide stage in Spain on 17th April 2010 but, with the last press attention back in mid-December, people may question whether the press department is still on Winter Hiatus? Oddly however, if I had to put money on one motorsport series being sold out at each venue, it would be the Renault World Series every time – the question is why?
The series has a small number of races, but then again so does BTCC and it travels Europe, just like F1, but it is the one most certain to guarantee a sell-out crowd. Could it be a loyal base, the attractions within the track, could it be this series attracts less controversy making news stories harder to write or could it be that this event is free? Then again having it free is one thing but without publicity how do you get the message across? And do they accept the fact that most WSR fans are going to follow other categories too and rely on these, not needing constant stories to get them through the race-free winter?
What do you think? Should the World Series by Renault have a louder ‘voice’ between seasons or is it a case of ‘not broke, don’t fix it’? As always let me know your thoughts!
PS – Don’t forget to check out my F1 pieces on EnterF1 and BTCC articles Girlracer – more coming to both soon!
I pondered over whether I should write this post at all (apologies if it isn’t what you’re used to seeing!)
I wanted to use the story of Nelson Piquet Jr, going to NASCAR after failing to secure an F1 drive, to demonstrate some new Social Media monitoring tools which will tell you not only if people are talking but what they’re saying and, crucially, how positive or negative the coverage is but the results weren’t what I expected.
First up I tried Twittratr which searches out key words in tweets to determine how positive or negative people’s reaction is, 1.83% was supposedly positive (although with comments like ‘Nelson Piquet jr to go to NASCAR lots of nice chaps to help him crash in turns 1,2,3 & 4’ I’m not so sure!), 7.33% negative (although the majority of these are classed negative due to the word failing as in ‘failing to secure an f1 drive’), that leaves a massive 90.84% neutral. In the neutral column I read plenty of nice (and some not so nice) comments.
I next tried Trackur which gave 123 ‘neutral’ results which, whilst a great news story filter doesn’t give an accurate picture of people’s opinions.
I conducted this little experiment one to see how people are reacting to Piquet now, personally given what’s happened I think NASCAR is one of the better options he has and even a field in which he could find himself excelling (all crash jokes aside). The other reason was to take a better look at some of the options for tracking stories across social networks, yes this was only one story and I only used two of the countless sites out there but It seems that, whilst various sites can provide a wealth of information, it still requires a competent knowledge of evaluation to sort the good from the bad…
Hi guys, after a looong absence from the blogosphere (those of you who follow my Twitter account will know why) I’m back!
And what better way to get the first blog of 2010 underway then by drawing a close to the last post of ‘09. The following may not be in as much detail as the previous awards (I’m keen to begin the build-up to the various new season) but that doesn’t make the winners any less deserving. Congratulations to all the winners – wonder if they hold their crowns next year?
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA – Brawn GP – fab website, great use of Twitter, champiooones!
BEST WEBSITE – Indycar.com – official site of the Indy Racing League, provides some fantastic content and constantly engages with visitors.
BEST CRISIS MANAGEMENT – Mercedes-McLaren – Renault ran them close with crash-gate but the handling of the Melbourne ‘cheat-gate’ scandal was admirable.
FAVOURITE VIRAL CAMPAIGN – Williams & Philips promo – Nico’s lost helmet – I admit I was suckered in at first, always the sign of a good campaign. A great use of social media tools.
SPONSORSHIP DEAL – Virgin & Brawn – This had to be the deal of the decade and the icing on the cake? First meet-and-greet of the new World Champion was at a pre-planned Virgin promotions event; a PR’s dream!
FUNNIEST STORY – Carrot Car – This made me smile (and apparently tickled Russell Howard too) a Formula 3 racing car made entirely of recyclable products and vegetables; you couldn’t make it up!
MOST MARKETABLE STAR – Danica Patrick – There were many potential winners in this category but for holding her own against the boys and for continuing to bring in big sponsors it’s gotta go to Danica.
BEST INTERVIEWEE - Christian Horner – One of the gentlemen of F1, Christian never let’s his emotions get the better of him (well from the ankles up!) and I found myself always looking forward to his interviews, which thanks to Vettel and Webber’s performances there were plenty of. Funny, insightful and honest I look forward to hearing more in 2010.
BEST PERSONALITY – Rubens Barrichello - I’m sure anyone who followed F1 in 2009 will be aware that Rubens season wasn’t always a happy one, neither was his mood, but anyone who followed the guy on Twitter or saw the genuine concern he showed for fellow Brazilian Massa will agree he deserves this accolade.
FUTURE MEDIA STAR – Karun Chandhok - Currently racing in GP2 and with over 1200 Twitter followers this guy is one to watch.
TEAM OF THE YEAR – Brawn – For the wins, for the social networking, for Ross, Rubens, Nick & Jenson, for the dramatic story and the crazy on camera celebrations and for making ‘champioooone’ my favourite word of 2009 Brawn GP we salute you.
So that’s it The 1st official ‘Revvies’ are at an end, check back for new blog posts and please, as always, feel free to comment!
Awards season may be a few months away but I thought I’d get a jump on the crowd and so, without further ado, I present the reason there’s been no blog for a while, the reason my internet usage has trebled over the last few days (research!) and the reason I will be running a post a day for the next week – yes it’s the first annual ‘Motorsport – Believe The Spin PR Awards’ or the ‘Revvies’ as I think I may coin them =)
The awards are all based on my personal opinion and the input of the kind souls who DM’d my Twitter account and there are 14 catergories – best use of social media, best website, best viral campaign, best crisis management, best sponsorship deal, future media star, funniest story, most marketable star, best commentary, best sponsor, best interviewee, personality of the year, team of the year and outstanding achievement to motorsport. I hope you enjoy but please, please feel free to comment either way!
And so if everyone is sitting comfortably I present the first two awards – Best Commentary & Best Sponsor.
BEST COMMENTARY
This was a surprisingly close contest, the boys at NASCAR have made vast improvements and I always enjoy listening to BTCC coverage as did many of you judging from the messages but, for me, there is one team that have stood out above all others – Holly Samos, David Croft, Anthony Davidson, Jonathan Legard, Lee McKenzie, Ted Kravitz, Andrew Benson, Martin Brundle, Eddie Jordan, David Coulthard & Jake Humphrey step forward and claim your prize (ok that’s a bluff I have no actual prizes!) With such a large team it’s perhaps no surprise that F1 viewers this year haven’t missed a single incident, from Friday practice to Sunday analysis the team have had it covered and even between races with fantastic blogs, a strong Twitter presence and a Twitpic regularity that borders on obsessive fans have never had it so good. BBC F1 commentary team we salute you!
BEST SPONSOR
For me this category was a no-brainer, there is one sponsor that, for me, has made itself indispensable to it’s sport beyond any financial commitment; yes ladies and gentleman this isn’t any old sponsor – this is HiQ FastFit. The BTCC title sponsors are a constant presence on race weekends, from the hundreds of banners and boards to their now infamous stand manned by a flurry of pink! The team go beyond this however with their eagerly contested ‘champagne moment’, ‘Project Pink’ charity work for Breast Cancer and their grid girl competition these guys make the most of every opportunity and even afford fans the chance to enjoy the action for free through regular Twitter competitions, the competition would need Colin Turkington behind the wheel just to catch-up. Congratulations to everyone at HiQ Fastfit – 2009 sponsors of the year!
Check back tomorrow for more winners!
Whilst I’m weighing up people’s suggestions for my first annual motorsport PR awards (not too late to e-mail, comment or Twitter DM me your suggestions for any media spectacles that caught your eye this year!) I thought I’d drop a quick post.
Toyota, who recently announced their immediate withdrawl from of F1 have reaffirmed their commitment to the six teams they currently sponsor in NASCAR. The stock-racing series may not have as big a budget as F1 but many would argue it also lacks the global appeal that the Grand Prix carries. As well as the USA NASCAR broadcasts to Canada, Australia, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and us here in the UK; F1 broadcasts to around 64 countries, naturally attracting a much larger audience share. To be clear I’m not looking to debate the merits of one series over another (I personally think both have their strengths and weaknesses) but I am interested in why Toyota took the decision to ditch one over the other.
In terms of media exposure it could be argued that F1 is more a scatter-gun approach (appeal to lots of different people and hope to attract a large number) whereas NASCAR may be shown in fewer places but the audience it hits are more likely to translate into sales (we already know what a brand-loyal lot NASCAR fans are). In terms of development potential (always cited in F1 as the main reason manufacturers get involved and one of the talking points in the FIA v FOTA budget debate) it’s difficult to determine which offers the more potential, I’d love to hear from any manufacturers/engineers etc as to their thoughts! It’s also difficult to overlook the fact that Toyota teams have significantly better results in NASCAR than they ever managed in F1 which will always play a part.
At this point I’m almost tempted to end with a Harry-Hill style ‘NASCAR or F1, there’s only one way to decide – Fiiiight’ but instead I want to know what you think - Have Toyota made the right decision? Do you think they’ll return to F1 at any point? Should they now pour more resources into NASCAR? As always let me know your thoughts!
I read an interesting article from a Twitter link the other day about how companies should not always listen to customers and when presented with what they thought they wanted (i.e the example given was healthier options at McDonalds ) they find they don’t want it after all. The article (apologies can’t find the link - should have favourite-d it!) explained that it’s better to introduce products then take opinions and it got me thinking – could the same apply to motorsport?
Following Sunday’s amazing F1 spectacle (admittedly more circuit than race) I was craving more on-track action, thankfully the NASCAR Sprint Car series is running until the end of November and is shown on Sky Sports Extra on Sundays and repeated on Five on Monday in Blighty. For those F1 fans struggling to fill the next 131 days and have heard bad things about the American series (all left turns, no action etc) I would suggest using this month to give NASCAR a go - I was pleasantly surprised when I started watching a few seasons ago and don’t quite understand the reputation it has as ‘motorsport marmite’.
Getting back to the point of the post; an hour, a couple of huge crashes and a victory for Jamie McMurray later I logged onto Twitter to see a big debate had been started over the use of restrictor plates. The plates, which limits the power of an engine, is currently used at Daytona and Talladega, site of Sunday’s action. Cars can be restricted from around 750hp to a ‘mere’ 430hp; quite the difference. Critics of the plates argue that they cause the cars to bunch together in ‘packs’ actually making the sport more dangerous and restricting the action; it has also been argued that the effects of restrictor plates could be managed through new aerodynamic and electronic upgrades. From the comments been thrown around Twitter (which admittedly is a small sample) it seems the fans want to see the end of the plates but should NASCAR’s governing body listen? Whilst a test was done around Talladega way back in 2004 no further action has been taken. The plates aren’t in use at the majority of tracks so could the solution lie in dumping the plates and simply adjusting the cars set-up for improved safety? Should the fans be listened to or should NASCAR’s first responsibility be to its drivers, personnel and spectators and doing everything possible to keep them safe? When it comes to unpopular choices do the decision-makers know best or is there power in the people?
I’m a person who likes autumn and winter, I love leaf fights with my little sis, I love Halloween, I love snow, I looove Christmas and I love Christmas shopping even more (freaky I know!) The one thing I don’t love it that the end of October signals the end of the F1 season…
We may already have a new world champion but that’s merely the start of it. This weekend fans will be saying goodbye to BMW, Renault will be waving off Alonso, Ferrari will be saying ciao to Kimi and the teams will be pitting for fuel for the final time (at least for the next 12 months).
Although the season is over there is still plenty to do and this is normally the time that the PR machine goes into overdrive and the sponsors get that little bit extra. There hasn’t been the expected flurry of transfers within the paddock with many teams choosing to wait until the end of the season to announce line-ups – something that’s sure to keep the column inches filled. There are quite a few stories circulating at the moment – not least the future of the British F1 race which seems to be changing daily and the appointment of Jean Todt as FIA president; could the down period be a winter of positive change or discontent? I’m also curious as to what fans get up to during the break? Let me know if you have any cool or wacky plans.
My withdrawl symptoms normally kick in about three weeks after the final race but I’m all ready to counteract them; as well as catching up my friends that have no interest in the sport (although that group is growing smaller as they come round to my way of thinking!) I will also be learning Spanish. I’ve tried before but this time I’ve bought a ‘learn in three months kit’ and I’m determined to have it down before March 2010. I’ll also be keeping the blog going, examining all the latest rumours, gossip and headlines from the motorsport world, especially how the clever folks in the publicity departments manage to keep the press attention up when there’s no racing - stick with me, together we can get through this! ;-)
PS – Don’t forget to check out the articles on www.enterf1.com a great group of writers, a superb editor and a few of them written by yours truly!
